How To Accomplish (Almost) Anything

In 7 seconds, no less

Remember your mom’s birthday—it could help you slim down or push through a tough workout. Mapping out important dates can help you reach your health goals, suggests a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Researchers asked 49 people to describe the fitness levels they hoped to achieve in eight weeks’ time. Next, the team gave each person a timeline, and asked them to look at the date of their goal completion. Here’s the twist: Half of those timelines noted a major holiday, which fell in the middle of the 8-week goal period. Everyone then answered questions about their current fitness levels and their motivation to achieve their 8-week goals.

The results: People whose timelines featured a major holiday rated their current self as 10% less fit, compared to the self-ratings of the other study participants. They also reported a 12% boost in motivation to achieve their health goals, according to the study.

Why? You may not realize it, but your mind uses “landmark” events like holidays, birthdays, or trips in order to orient itself on the timeline of your life, explains study author Johanna Peetz, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at Ottawa’s Carleton University. “If a major event or holiday falls in between now and your future goal date, this psychological landmark helps to highlight how far you still have to go to achieve that goal,” Peetz says.

Put simply, focusing on those landmark events emphasizes the gap between your current and future self, which can be highly motivational.

Do this: Imagine the goals you want to achieve 6 months from today. Now mark that future date on a calendar, and also mark all the major events—birthdays, holidays, trips—between now and your goal date, Peetz advises. Spend a few seconds each day looking at that calendar, and consider the major “landmarks” separating the current you from the future, improved version.